When The Rich Son Falls

Twelve

Topher found himself by the food and drink section—which was basically just a cooler, and a table with snacks and cups—moments after he requested a change of duties. James, in response to that, had sighed and looked at him like he was so done, but then proceeded to talk to a few of the other volunteers. When he came back, he dragged Topher to the food and drink section and handed him a face mask, saying, “Here. Wear this.”

Topher took it but only stared at it. “What? Why?” he asked.

“People here like to watch celebrity news so they can easily recognize you,” James said, nodding his head to discreetly show Topher that two older women were whispering and sneaking glances at them.

Topher, instead of being alarmed, managed to slyly smile. “So, you’ve known who I was all along, huh?”

James rolled his eyes as the man’s priorities clearly weren’t in check. Instead of waiting around, he grabbed the mask and carelessly put it on Topher, even if it ended up going over his eyes and nose. Topher fixed it as he chuckled. “And you even pretended you didn’t know my name! I knew you didn’t live under a rock. So, what do you know about me? My family? My friends?”

“I didn’t know your name,” James stated, “I just knew that you are someone who’s a public figure. That’s it. Now, can you do anything about your hair? The white parts on the sides are too obvious.”

“All you know is that I’m a “public figure”?” Topher asked with a horrified look on his face, still hung up on the least important thing at that moment. “You don’t even know why I’m here? Stuck in all this sand and hellish heat?”

“Vacationing, like everyone else,” James said with a straight face as he placed a plate of mini sandwiches on Topher’s hand, which only caused the latter’s jaw to drop. “Go, get moving, and make sure you greet everyone nicely.”

James walked to the side of the pool where most of the kids, ranging from ages 4 to 10, were crowding. Meanwhile, after Topher had gotten over his shock, he walked over to where Mandy, Bruce, and another female staff in uniform were standing, instead of distributing them among the guests as he was tasked to do. He kept his eyes glued to James the entire time, even if that meant almost running into one of the volunteers. He watched with narrowed eyes as James’s face brightened up when he kneeled on one knee so he could talk to the children face to face.

In his head, Topher’s thoughts went, “How dare he not know who I am?”, “Who does he think he is to command me?”, and “Look at him smiling all bright and cheerful with that stupid robot face.” He knew he was being ridiculous, but he decided he wanted to be petty since the man had been giving him a hard time.

Topher had a frown on his face to match his mood, so it was a good thing that he had a face mask on when the female staff with Mandy and Bruce tapped his shoulder and said a shy, “Hi.”

His sociable setting automatically turned on, and with a visibly more pleasant mood, he greeted her back. “Hello there, I don’t think we’ve met, uh… Nicki!” he read the woman’s nameplate.

Nicki’s face turned red at the sound of her name being called, and Topher immediately knew that she knew who he was. “Omg you are Topher Stevens!” Nicki said with a hushed squeal. “I didn’t believe Mandy at first because people online think you’re just hiding out in your home!”

Topher lightly chuckled at that and shrugged. “Yes, well, here I am, in the flesh. I’d appreciate it if you don’t announce it to your friends, though. I’m afraid I’ve run out of hiding places.”

“Of course! Are you really friends with Benedict Cumberbatch?”

“Mmm, let’s just say I invited him and his wife to dinner,” Topher said with a wink that made Nicki put a hand over her heart. It was technically true, what he said; never mind the fact that the Benedict never actually replied. But Nicki didn’t have to know that.

They were cut short when James stood up and began to speak to the crowd. “Good afternoon, everyone!” was all he had said, and everyone’s eyes were already on him. Even the younger kids were listening. “I’m happy to see familiar faces—Kylie, Max, Zig, Andrea, Pam, Kurt, Lia, Jonathan, Mikey, Dave, Brienne, Cory—hey, guys! And of course, new faces! Welcome, Jessie, Christian, and our little baby Maddox over there. Parents, caregivers and volunteers, thank you for being with us today and I hope you have as much of a fun time like the children. Now, for the kiddos who already know the drill, guide our new friends over there, okay? Let’s all make a nice line over here so we can assign you into groups.”

Topher couldn’t help but let out a small scoff. He had only been to a children’s birthday party once, and all he can say about that afternoon was that it was such a disaster, that kids are like little devil spawns, and that he would never go to any of his friends’ kids’ events anymore. However, much to his amazement, the children did run towards James to make a line without much chaos ensuing.

Either the kids in that town were just of a different breed, or James slipped a mild relaxant in their juice boxes—although, he was pretty sure that that was illegal in all countries.

Topher continued to watch as James and a volunteer wearing swim trunks began to assign the kids into separate groups. He noticed that the other adults, who were neither volunteers nor staff, were just simply chilling by the deck chairs.

“Why don’t the parents just teach the kids? They’re just there anyway,” he innocently asked the three he was with.

“Most of those adults aren’t really parents,” Bruce answered. “Some are volunteers from the orphanage, teachers, foster parents. Only a very few of those are their real parents.”

Mandy nodded and added, “Plus, James opened this up not just for the kids to have some time with peers and to learn, but for the adults to also be able to relax and take a break.”

“And he said he’s just doing this for the community for free?” Topher asked with a hint of judgment in his voice.

“Yup,” Nicki proudly answered. “He’s a really altruistic guy, that James. You won’t find anyone kinder than he is.”

A corner of Topher’s upper lip curled up in distaste behind his mask. “He doesn’t seem so kind to me. He won’t even let me pay double the rate so I can extend my stay here. He’d rather have me rent a random cottage out there without air conditioning.” He shuddered at the horrific thought.

“How long are you planning to hide out here anyway?” Bruce straightforwardly asked.

“I don’t know.” Topher looked at Mandy. “Has the news about me died down?”

The answer was clearly written on her face as she hesitated.

“Of course not,” he sighed, “it’s only been two days.”

“Maybe you should just settle down here,” Mandy kindly suggested. “Find a place and buy it.”

“I’m not really planning to stay here long-term. And I can’t buy anything because I don’t have enough cash for a house that I like. The ATM wouldn’t let me withdraw that much.” It was a fact that he knew because he tried it at the airport. “I’ll probably just stay here a few weeks or a month. That should be enough time for my family to call off the dogs on me.”

“You live such a complicated life,” Bruce said with simple honesty.

“If I didn’t live with my family, I would’ve let you stay at our place,” Mandy sighed.

Just then, Nicki’s eyes lit up and without hesitation, she held onto Topher’s arm as she said, “James doesn’t live with anyone. Maybe he can let you crash in his couch for a while until a room frees up after the festival.”

“Oh,” Topher muttered, slightly surprised by the gesture, “that is actually not a bad idea. Although… not to sound too picky, but is his place okay? Has any of you ever been there?”

“Yeah, it’s decent,” Mandy piped in, suddenly fishing for her phone. “Actually, I have photos from when we had a birthday party for James in his house.”

Behind them, Bruce crossed his arms above his chest and shook his head disapprovingly. “Why are you guys auctioning off the man’s place like it’s your own?” he asked, but the other three disregarded him as Mandy swiped through her phone gallery to show Topher the pictures.

They were mostly of people eating, or posing for awkward group photos, but the place did seem quite nice. Passable—Topher thought so to himself as thoughtfully nodded his head. “Huh, not bad. Is there an air conditioner?”

“There is,” Nicki confirmed it. “Living room and bedroom, if I remember it correctly.”

“Nice, nice, very nice,” Topher muttered with a growing devious smile on his face.

Even with a mask on, it was obvious what he was thinking, so Bruce went ahead and told him the obvious problem in his plan. “You know you have to ask the man first before you can actually stay there.”

“I’ll take care of that,” Topher said with a wink to the man, before he thanked the ladies and went on his way to achieve a new goal that he had set.